Knife Thrower
by The Girl from Badlands
Summary: CURRENTLY BEING REWRITTEN She always liked intelligence.
1. A New Case To Start The Month

**Knife Thrower: A Ghostbusters fanfic**

**Chapter 1**

I wonder at all  
the errors  
missed.  
The cuts &amp; stabs avoided  
with grace.  
The luster in the blade's silence.  
How providence is unable  
to match  
an act  
of true volition.  
The keen trick of it.  
Like science.  
Like love.

**Marlene Tully**

November 1, 1984

The mid-autumn sun rose gently into the sky, and Janine, the faithful secretary to the Ghostbusters, was currently on her lunch break at the firehouse. The last month had been hectic, with the defeat of Gozer and all. But things had been significantly quieter around the place. And that wasn't just the ghosts being quieter, either. Peter was getting less on her nerves – or at least she thought, maybe she just learnt to tolerate him. Ray and Winston were their normal selves, and Egon was just quiet as always.

The interactions between the secretary and Dr. Spengler had almost ceased on Janine's part – if he wasn't interested, he wasn't interested. Besides, she wouldn't want some guy pushing himself onto her, why should it be any different if their genders were swapped?

The phone started ringing, making the firehouse – previously filled with chat from upstairs – fall silent. Janine picked up the phone, adjusting her thickly rimmed glasses while doing so.

"Ghostbusters, we're ready to believe you," She answered, quoting the famous, very awkward ad the guys had made when the business first started out. The voice on the other end, an old man by the sounds of things, was mildly concerned, describing a lion ghost. He quickly gave her the address before hanging up.

"Rude," Janine murmured as she scribbled the address on the piece of paper. She pressed the alarm and watched as Ray and Winston slid down the firepole. Peter followed after, with Egon coming up from the lab.

"Where are we going?" Ray asked, going to the cabinet to put on his uniform.

"Right, uh the circus tent in Central Park," She replied.

"Sweet! I really wanna get a nice, hot pretzel, maybe some ice cream," Peter rambled.

"So, what is the ghost description?" Egon asked, disregarding Peter's squawking.

"Sounds like a free floater. Full body, too. Maybe a class six if you ask me," Janine replied as the guys grabbed the equipment.

"We didn't ask you Janine, you don't have a PhD," Peter retorted.

"You barely have yours, asshat," Janine replied. Winston stifled a laugh.

"Alright, we better go," Ray announced, pushing Peter into the Ecto-1.

* * *

The circus – let's be real – was a mess. Performers were hiding or being chased. They didn't seem to get the fact that this was a lion ghost – if they simply stayed still, the beast wouldn't chase them.

Only two people had realized this – Jordan and Gwen. Well really, Gwen had realized and Jordan had copied.

"So, Gwen, how was your date with Kurt? That's right, he didn't want to go out with _you_," Jordan huffed.

"Wow, right where it hurts! Guys I'm already over by now!" Gwen said sarcastically, "Now shut it, I don't want to be caught. And neither do you, probably,"

"It's because of those scars, you know? Guys hate them," Jordan whispered.

"Yeah, asshole guys. Now shut up,"

Jordan may've been a bitch, but at least she wasn't stupid. She shut up.

But she _was_ a bitch.

Jordan pushed Gwen off the stands they were sitting on, into the dirt.

"Hey! Ugly!" Jordan called. The lion turned its gaze to Gwen, who was scrambling out of the dirt. The lion leaped, pinning her to the ground.

_Keep your brave face_, Gwen thought to herself as she trembled.

A stream of orange and blue lights dragged him away from Gwen's trembling body, and she backed up against the stands.

Jordan joined her, plopping down beside her enemy, "Hi Gwen!" She greeted cheerily.

"I can't believe you!" Gwen hissed, getting up and moving back to the stands. She watched the Ghostbusters drag the ghost of the lion over the trap.

The guy who she knew was Peter opened his mouth, shouting, "Everybody look away from the trap!"

Everybody in that tent turned away, waiting for the small beep of the trap to sound the all clear.

She watched them fiddle with their devices before Ray came over, followed closely by Egon, who was holding a PKE meter.

"You're the one who got attacked by the ghost, correct?" Ray asked.

Gwen nodded, "Yes, why?"

Within a second, Egon was running the PKE up and down over her. Gwen watched curiously.

"So what do you do here?" Ray asked, smiling at her. Ray had always struck her as the child-like one. Whereas Peter was the loudmouth. But she already had a bit of a bias to Egon – she'd seen the interviews. She liked intelligence – she had always liked learning.

"Oh, I'm a knife thrower," She answered, smiling at him. She felt she could let down her guard around these guys – she only really let her guard down around Maddie, one of the trapeze artists. The other trapeze artists – that was including Jordan – were stuck up. Except Maddie. Maddie was kind.

"Really? That's so cool! Can you show us?" Ray asked, grinning. Egon pulled his PKE away, watching curiously as Gwen grabbed a knife from the utility belt on her hips. She moved away from them, facing the wooden pole on the outer edge of the ring.

Gwen took in a breath before giving a short run, propelling the blade into the air. It hit the pole, staying in solidly.

She turned to face the two Ghostbusters, who both clapped. Ray was very impressed, even Egon had a look of surprise on his face.

"I'm Gwen, by the way," She told them, coming back to them.

"I'm Ray Stantz, this is Egon Spengler," Ray said politely.

"Hello," Egon greeted.

"Hi," She said to the both of them, but more to Egon than Ray.

"Ray!" Peter called from across the tent, "I need your help on prices!"

"Coming!" Ray called back, "Nice meeting you," Ray said, rushing away to Peter.

"That was very impressive," Egon told her. She was a tall thing, he observed, with wavy brown hair cascading down to the middle of her back. Her eyes were an icy blue, currently looking into his brown ones.

"Thank you," She smiled, "I take it you've read the Mali Spiritus Mortuorum, yes?"

Egon looked at her curiously, "You know that?"

"I sometimes look up those kinds of books in the library. I use it for inspiration on album concepts sometimes," She told him.

Egon gave her a small smile, "Even more impressive. And yes I have, but I find that the Acta Exspiravitis is a more interesting read,"

"I haven't read that one," She told him.

"I could perhaps lend it to you sometime?" he offered. Besides Ray and one or two people in university, he hadn't met anyone who had read those books. Interesting.

"I'd like that," She smiled.

"Spengs! Stop flirting, we're going!" Peter called. Egon rolled his eyes as he felt a small tinge of heat come over him. Gwen stifled a giggle.

"I guess you have to go,"

Egon cleared his throat, "Uh, yes. I do,"

"See you around, then," She smiled, "Hopefully I'll see you again, you're really smart," She said, "That sounded weird, sorry," _Gonna cringe about that later_. She thought to herself.

"Thank you. I'll, uh, see you later," He said, leaving.


	2. The Girl Who Throws The Knives

When the guys were out, the firehouse was completely silent. The only noise came from Janine filing her nails, which only often made a very dull, quiet noise anyway. A small bottle of ruby red nail polish sat, untouched, beside her as she continued to file away.

The silence didn't last long, though. Before she knew it, the guys were back. She could tell from three blocks away, as she heard the distant noise of the Ecto-1's sirens ringing loudly, getting louder as the car neared before it was so loud she could hardly hear herself think. This was very common occurrence.

Janine watched as Ray opened the doors, getting back in the driver's seat. He drove his pride and joy into the garage slowly.

"EGON HAS A CRUSH! LADY AND GENTLEMEN, HE'S NOT A COMPLETE ROBOT!" Peter announced, jumping out of the Ecto-1 as it came to a halt. Peter announced as they all arrived at the firehouse. Egon groaned.

"What? Who is it, Egon?" Janine asked from her desk, putting down her nail file to hear the gossip.

"It's nobody," Egon denied the claims made by his loudmouth co-worker as he got out of the Ecto-1.

"It's this knife thrower," Peter rambled. Egon shot him a look.

"Oh?" Janine asked, "Mutual attraction?"

"She wasn't yawning, if that's what you mean," Peter told her.

"Peter," Egon warned firmly.

"Alright, alright," Peter said, backing off his argument and holding up his hands in defence.

"Well, it just so happens that I have a ticket to tonight's performance," Janine boasted, picking up her nail file.

"You're finally going back home! Janine I'm so happy for you!" Peter joked as he climbed up the stairs.

"Ha ha," She replied dryly as she watched Egon and Ray scurry down into the lab, "Winston," she called, making a 'come here' gesture with her finger.

Winston made his way over, leaning over her desk, "Yeah?"

"Really though, does he like her?" Janine asked.

Winston chuckled a little, "Why do you care? You don't like him anymore,"

"No, I don't, but one, he's my friend, and two, I love hearing gossip about my friends," She told him with a sly grin.

Winston nodded, "Alright, well, I don't think Egon is quite there yet. He hasn't been acting differently. Oh but he did smile at her, from what I saw,"

"She _must_ have his attention, we all know Egon doesn't smile," She nodded, "Hmm. I'll talk with her tonight," She said, more to herself than Winston.

* * *

Nine O'clock came quicker than Janine had expected. The show had ended, and now the performers – like every night before – were chatting with audience members, mostly adults, and a few teenagers. This circus wasn't _not_ family oriented, but some things were meant for more mature ears and eyes.

Janine waited as the knife thrower's conversation with a young girl ceased before motioning over.

As soon as the young girl moved away from the performer, Janine opened her mouth, "You were great, you're really talented," Janine smiled.

"Thank you," The performer said, smiling genuinely, "I'm Gwen,"

"Janine,"

"That's such a nice name. Sorry, I just love names that aren't common. I don't hear of a lot of Janines," Gwen told her.

"If you think that's uncommon, you should hear my boss' name," Janine smirked.

"Oh? What's their name?"

"Egon,"

Gwen chuckled, "You work for the Ghostbusters? That must be cool," she remarked.

Janine laughed in the way that only Janine could laugh – with her nasally accent, "Cool, sure. Peter's an ass,"

"He did seem kind of…" Gwen trailed off, unsure of a word to fit Peter's character.

"Up himself? Annoying?" Janine offered. Gwen nodded, "He's like that a lot of the time, unless he's with his girlfriend. He's a little more tolerable then," the secretary explained.

"Fair enough," Gwen nodded, "Egon was really polite, though,"

"Isn't he?" Janine smiled, "I heard some gossip that he smiled at you,"

Gwen nodded, "Yeah, what's so big about that?"

"He hardly smiles at anyone you know, you must have gotten his attention," Janine told her.

Gwen smiled, "I did bring up some books, to be fair," she admitted.

"That must've been it, he likes intelligence," Janine nodded, looking like a wise old fortune teller as she did so.

"Doesn't everybody?" Gwen asked.

"Some girls just prefer looks. Ya know, all brawl no brains, but still incredibly nice?" Janine explained.

Gwen nodded, she'd met a few girls in her lifetime that only wanted that. One of those was in her band, to be fair. She still couldn't get over the fact that some people didn't want their partners to be intelligent.

"What about you, Janine? What do you prefer?" Gwen asked.

Janine shrugged, "A bit of both, I guess. Hey, you wanna go shoppin' sometime?"

Gwen grinned, "Sure, I have no practices on Saturday. Can you get off work then?"

Janine nodded, "Look I'll try, but if not my day is Sunday, that good for you?"

The performer nodded, "Yeah. Is ten good for you?"

"Ten's great. Just call if you wanna make any changes, see ya," Janine told her as she started to leave.

"See you later, Janine!"


	3. The Book and The Band

It was Tuesday the following week. Gwen and Janine _had_ gone shopping on Saturday, and they had gotten sushi. It had been a good day.

Today was not a good day. There was another ghost in the tent. Most of the performers had taken up Gwen's form of sitting still, but it was hardly working, considering this was a human ghost, therefore smarter than animal ghosts. To make matters worse, it was only seven in the morning.

She'd been told to keep watch for them, since the ringmaster- a man who Gwen thought should've retired by now – was keeping things together. She saw the Ghostbusters' car pull up and the guys hopped out. She smiled as the guys came near her and she guided them inside.

"We must stop meeting like this," Gwen joked to Egon as they walked inside. Egon rolled his eyes, somewhat playfully, as the guys got their stuff ready.

"Do you guys need my help?" She asked.

"Maybe you could be bait," Peter told her as he grabbed his Neutrona Wand.

"Peter!" Gwen narrowed her eyes at him.

"No, that could actually be really helpful," Ray said truthfully.

"Are you kidding?" Gwen asked, turning to him.

"You could lure the ghost where we need it," Winston said, "Then we'll get it in the streams,"

"Egon?" She asked, looking to him.

Egon was a bit flustered, why was she asking him? Did she trust him? She must've.

"It's for the best. You'll be safe," he assured her.

Gwen nodded reluctantly, "Alright, I guess,"

The guys all offered encouraging words as Gwen walked into the ring, quickly grabbing her knife from her belt.

"You do know that does nothing to the ghost, right?" Winston called.

"I know," Gwen called back, "It just makes me feel safer,"

The ghost appeared in front of her, circling around her, screaming out at the top of her lungs.

The guys quickly got into position, grabbing out the wands and pointing them at the ghost.

"Gwen, now!" Ray called. Gwen dropped to the floor as the ghost whipped around, and the guys quickly fired at her. She was caught in the stream in a matter of moments, before being dragged over the trap. Another call was made to not look at the trap, and the ghost was caught successfully.

Peter motioned over to the ringmaster quickly, already ready to discuss payment methods.

Egon, on the other hand, walked over to Gwen, who was clutching her hand against her shirt.

"What happened? Are you okay?" He asked, helping her up from the ground.

"When I dropped, my hand skidded on my blade a little. It's not gonna need stitches, I don't think," She told him, showing him her palm. A thin, red line could be made out against all the other blood.

He shook his head, "Probably not, but I'd still go see a nurse. You should have one here,"

Gwen nodded, "Yeah, I will," she said dismissively as she grabbed her knife in her other hand, "Can you do me a huge favour?"

"Sure," Egon replied helpfully.

"Can you walk with me over to the first aid station? I like company," She asked of him.

"Alright," He agreed as they started walking.

"So, have you had a good day so far?" She asked.

Egon nodded, "It's been pretty quiet today, so we've had a pretty relaxing day. Well, _they_ did, I was fixing the PKE," he explained, nodding over to Ray and Winston, who were talking with some of the other performers about the ghost.

"You never told me what my PKE reading was, Egon," she told him.

Egon liked the way she said his name. It was said as if you were trying out a new instrument – trying it out, seeing how it sounded, all that.

"I like your name, Egon. What is it? It sounds Hungarian,"

"You have a good ear, Gwen. And thank you," He said, trying not to be stiff – he was never that good receiving compliments that weren't about his intelligence.

"Back to the PKE," she said as they got to the first aid stand. A nurse rushed over and sat Gwen down in a chair, grabbing her hand.

"It was a bit higher than what would be considered normal for a person, but I took into account that you had been in the very close presence of a ghost," Egon told her as the nurse ran Gwen's hand under some water.

Gwen nodded, "Thank you, Egon," she said, offering him a kind smile.

Egon nodded, "You're welcome. Oh, I have something for you, wait here," He told her.

"Not going anywhere," She said dryly as he raced off. The nurse finished bandaging Gwen's hand, advising her that she should let it heal before performing or doing anything with the hand again.

_Great, I'm gonna have to get Maddie to play bass for me_. Gwen thought to herself.

Egon came back carrying a thick, leather bound book that read 'Acta Exspiravitis' in gold lettering. He put it on the table in front of Gwen as she stood.

"This is that book I told you about last week," He told her, "It's been translated, and I have a few pages of notes in the back and stapled to a few pages. Please take good care of it," he told her.

"Egon! Oh my God, you actually-? You're so nice," She smiled, "Thank you much, I will take the _best_ care of it. I will treat it as if it were my own child," she told him, "Thank you so much,"

"You're welcome," He said, with a smile. Again, he hadn't seen interest or this much enthusiasm in anyone besides Ray, really.

"I don't get the vibe that you're much of a hugging kind of guy, so I'm just gonna shake your hand really excitedly," Gwen told him, shaking his hand.

"I think we're leaving," Egon said, seeing Peter shaking the ringmaster's hand with a huge smirk.

"Right," Gwen laughed a little as she pulled her hand away, "Thank you, again,"

"Just drop it by when you're finished with it,"

"Alright," She nodded excitedly, "See ya later, Egon,"

Egon gave her a polite nod, "See you later, Gwen,"

_She was kind of…Cute when she got excited_. He thought to himself. That was stupid, he wouldn't let Peter have the satisfaction of even suspecting that Egon Spengler, a man of science, thought a girl was _cute_ when she was excited about a book. Not that Egon was a stubborn man, but he knew Peter wouldn't let him live it down if that he found out.

"So, we're just meeting up with Uma, right? Or is Tina coming too?" Maddie asked me as we walked through the streets of Brooklyn.

"Tina's coming too," I answered as we took a left, "You know my bass parts right? Because I'm not allowed to do anything with this hand,"

"Yeah, but it doesn't even look like we're gonna have that gig tonight," Maddie replied, "Weather people say that a storm's coming,"

"I know, and Uma still wants to meet in a park," Gwen huffed.

Gwen, Maddie, Uma and Tina were a band called The Empire Chronicles. Were they good? Yes. Were they signed? No.

"In Brooklyn too," Maddie added.

"Well, to be fair, we met at Central Park last time. We need to meet somewhere close to where she lives every once in a while," Gwen replied.

"Next time we're meeting in Greenwich," Maddie told her.

"Fine," Gwen agreed, "There it is,"

They arrived at a small park, walking through the open gates to see Uma and Tina waiting for them on one of the picnic benches. Parks, they found, were good places to brainstorm ideas for songs.

"I got a call from the concert organizers, they've cancelled the show," Uma greeted.

"Good morning, Uma," Maddie deadpanned.

"Great," Gwen groaned, "Well, I know it's early and we're all tired, but we were woken up by a ghost this morning and we didn't want to have to wait for you guys to get up," she explained, gesturing to herself and Maddie as they got seated.

"That sucks shit," Tina murmured.

"Yes, yes it does suck shit," Maddie agreed.

"Let's just start writing before the storm starts," Gwen said.

Tina grabbed out her notepad, "Alright, who has something?"

The group was silent for a few moments. Sometimes the ideas flowed, sometimes their minds were desolate deserts.

"I have a riff in mind, meant for bass," Uma announced, looking to Gwen. She grabbed the notepad, scribbling in some notes.

That was generally how their brainstorm sessions went.

After only fifteen minutes, Uma started to feel fat droplets landing on her back. Instead of flipping out, she laughed, "You guys have to go all the way back to Manhattan and I only need to go two blocks," She grinned.

"What? Why?" Tina asked.

"It's raining, you dumbass," Uma answered.

"It is. Great," Maddie huffed.

"Tina, um, you take the notes, we'll go," Gwen answered. She watched as Uma and Tina left, "There's a station a few blocks away anyway,"

"Yeah," Maddie agreed, "Do you have your card?"

"What do you mean do I have my card? I gave my card to you!" Gwen retaliated.

"Oh shit, I must've dropped it. Did you bring any money?" Maddie asked.

"No, I left my wallet back at home. Great, I'm walking,"

"Sucks to be you,"

"Basically,"

They both made their way out of the park, Gwen and Maddie going separate ways.

Time passed as Gwen got more soaked. The day, even though it was only eight-thirty, was starting get dark. Cars rumbled past her every so often, the mixed noise of the rain and the cars so loud it was terrible.

A tiny, red car came to a stop beside her suddenly, the door opening suddenly, "Gwen, is that you?" A nasally voice asked. Gwen looked beside her to see Janine staring at her, "Whaddaya doin' out here? It's bucketing down!"

"I was with my friends!" Gwen yelled over the rain, "Band meeting!"

Janine shrugged, "Alright, just get in the car, I'm going to Headquarters,"

Gwen quickly got in, slamming the door as she relaxed, "Your car's gonna stink,"

"Doesn't matter," Janine replied, "It's my brother's and it's falling apart anyway," she said as she drove off.

* * *

"Guys! We have a visitor!" Janine announced as she led Gwen inside from the rain. Janine's glasses were covered in raindrops. The storm was only worsening outside, evident by the dripping state of their clothes. Well, Janine was much dryer than Gwen.

Peter rushed down the stairs, practically jumping the last few steps, only to look at Gwen. His previously excited face fell to his previously plain one, the notion that the visitor was perhaps a wealthy investor burning up in flames, "What happened to you?"

"The storm, what do you think?"

Peter nodded, "Morning, Janine," he greeted, "EGON!" He called quickly.

"Peter, what are you-?" Janine started asking as Peter pulled her aside.

"Let Egon help her out. It's called a set up," Peter told her in a hushed voice.

Janine nodded, "Alright,"

Egon came from the lab downstairs, noticing Gwen standing in the middle of the garage, a puddle forming beneath her feet. Her shoulders were hunched, her back turned to him, shaking from the cold. Her hair was in straggly wet strands, a far different picture than what it was that morning.

"That storm is really heavy," He noted as he approached.

"Right you are," she replied as she turned to face him, arms folded into each other, "Hello again,"

"Hi," he replied as Peter left and Janine got to work.

"Do you guys have a towel I can borrow?" Gwen asked.

"Oh, yes, follow me," he replied as he adjusted his glasses, leading her upstairs.


	4. Storm

"How's the book?" Egon asked as he led Gwen upstairs.

"I haven't had the chance to read it yet, I went to a band meeting," Gwen replied.

"You're in a band?"

"Mm-hm,"

They got to the first level, going down the hall to a closet. Egon opened the door, pulling out a towel and passing it to her, "You should probably have a shower, otherwise you're gonna catch a cold," he advised.

"A shower isn't gonna do much when I still have wet clothes," she replied, practically shivering as she spoke.

"You're right. Well, we have a dryer," He informed, "Um, hold on,"

Egon turned back, going down the stairs just enough to call out to Janine.

"Janine," he called, Janine watching her paint her freshly filed nails dry.

Janine spun in her chair to face him, blowing on her nails to speed up the process, "Yeah?"

"I really need to go back to the lab. Could you help Gwen?" He asked.

Janine nodded, getting up and brushing past him and meeting up with Gwen in the hall.

"Egon had to go back to the lab," Janine explained.

"Do you have a dryer?" Gwen asked, tucking a wet strand of hair behind her ear.

"Oh, yeah, um, how about you just get your butt in a shower first and you can pass me your clothes once you have a towel around you. I'll leave 'em outside the door when they're done," Janine explained.

"Thank you so much," Gwen said, "So, do you know what kind of stuff Egon is doing in the lab?" She asked as she followed Janine to the bathroom.

Egon was interesting to be around. He was so smart, and the fact that he seemed happy to talk to her - even about trivial things - delighted Gwen.

"I think he's just fixin' one of the packs at the moment," Janine answered.

"Do you think he'd mind if I talked to him until this storm lets up?" The visitor asked shyly.

Janine smirked knowingly, "Nuh-uh, he likes you, I can tell,"

"_Likes_-likes or just likes?" Gwen asked, sounding like a teenager, all while trying to be casual. Forbid someone thinking she had a crush on him. Well, she kind of did, but she didn't want other people knowing that.

It was something about him - well, she reasoned, it was a couple of things. She thought he was cute -his glasses, his deep brown eyes, his adorably dorkish hair, his height. And those rare smiles, they were so very rare, and yet he let one grace his face around her. Another thing she liked was intelligence - she always loved intelligence. It was a quality trait in a person - someone she could have a decent conversation with. And learn a little from. To top that off, he was very polite and kind. She did like that.

"Hmm, I don't know. I mean, he likes being around you, which is good. He asked how you were when I came back from shopping with you, but that might be just common courtesy,"

Gwen nodded, not pressing it any further.

* * *

"So what are you working on?" Gwen asked as she sat on top of a crate, watching Egon fiddling with a pair of Ecto Goggles. She had snuck down here a few minutes ago, starting conversation with the brainiac.

"These Ecto Goggles are playing up a little. Just giving them a tweak,"

Gwen nodded as the conversation ceased.

_Say something, surely you could start up a conversation. _Egon thought to himself. He cleared his throat, turning around to face Gwen, leaving the goggles at the work desk.

"So, do you reside at the circus? Because you were there pretty early," He asked. Ah yes, what a _great_ question.

To be fair, Gwen appreciated the fact that he was giving her his full attention.

Gwen laughed, "No no, I just had a late practice session last night. Nobody else is generally up when I am so that's when I practice because there's no one there to annoy me. I fell asleep there, which makes me sound like a hobo,"

"So where _do_ you live?"

"I live in an apartment on 96th," she explained, "It's small but it's pretty good for just me. I get it on a bit of a discount because it used to be my mom's place," she explained, looking around a little, "Must be interesting living here though,"

Egon nodded, a slight smile on his face, "Interesting is an understatement," he told her, "Some days here are busy, others are quiet. Peter sometimes brings Dana over to impress her," Ge explained, "Sometimes I'm up working on repairs or new equipment,"

"Working on anything new currently?" She asked.

"Well, do you want the long explanation or the short one?"

"The long one, I have a feeling that's more interesting," Gwen told him.

There it was again - she was _interested_.

But Gwen felt kind of weird in her chest - that kind of anxious feeling that one felt when interacting with someone important. Egon _was_ important. She really didn't want to seem uninterested or unintelligent - not in front of him. Not that she was either of those things anyway, she knew that, but she felt the kind of _want_ to show him that.

Gwen knew it - it was a crush, plain and simple. She reasoned it at that moment.

It felt like she took another leap into nothingness when she talked to him, only to land on soft ground when he seemed happy to reply.

Her chest felt so weird - she hadn't felt that in _ages_.

Egon smiled back at her - how was that even a thing with him? He was never much of a smiler.

He remembered when he was in grade school, all those awards he got, all the praise he received. He had smiled politely, but that was all he could really muster. He sometimes smiled at Ray, but never at a girl before. How juvenile that sounded to him.

Egon sucked in a short breath, "Well, I'm-"

The bell started ringing and the pair let out small, disappointed sighs.

"I need to go!" He yelled over the noise.

"No shit!"

Without another moment to lose, Egon started to jog up the stairs, followed by the girl.

The rest of the Ghostbusters were coming down the firepole by the time they got to the top of the stairs, Janine still scribbling an address on a pink sticky note.

"So, Janine, where we headed?" Winston asked as the guys headed over to the uniform closet, Gwen going over to the receptionist.

"Some apartment on 96th," She told them, offering Peter the note as he made his way over, still shrugging on his uniform.

Gwen quickly snatched the note from Peter, causing him to start complaining as she read on.

"Hey, I thought you had manners, Gwen, that's no way-" Peter scolded before she groanedd.

"What? Someone you know?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, me," Gwen replied, "Apartment 23, that's my place,"

Egon looked over, "What kind of ghost are we dealing with?"

"Sounds like a class five," Peter replied as the bell stopped ringing, snatching back the note from Gwen's hands.

"I think you should come," Ray told Gwen as he started packing in the equipment.

"Think? I was gonna come whether you wanted me to or not,"

* * *

Gwen tried so hard to keep herself calm as they got to her apartment building, all the residents on her floor standing outside. As the Ecto-1 pulled up, the group collectively turned, staring down Gwen as she got out of the car.

The once thundering, heavy storm had almost ceased, only slight droplets tapping the ground as the grey clouds starting bidding their farewells, gradually moving away from each other.

Mrs. Alberg, Gwen's Swedish neighbour, was fuming. She pointed a fat finger at the girl, "Detta är ditt fel! Det hände eftersom allt du spelar på din bas är metall! Attraheras djävulen!"

Gwen tried getting past as the rest of the residents started complaining to the guys.

"Egon!" Peter called as the four guys started getting questioned by the angry residents. Egon looked to him as a man started whining in his face.

"Follow her while we deal with this," Peter told him. Egon nodded as he started pushing through the crowd of people as he caught up to Gwen.

"Expect the worst," He told her as they started to climb the stairs.

"Thanks," Gwen said sarcastically.

They got to the fourth floor, seeing a door on the right covered in blue ectoplasm.

"Do you think it's still in there?" Gwen asked curiously.

"Only one way to find out," Egon answered, looking back to her. She reluctantly grabbed her keys, unlocking the door.


	5. The Apartment

The apartment stunk – a ghost had definitely been here. Gwen quickly clutched onto Egon's gloved hand, staying behind him as the prospect of _another_ ghost – in her house – filled her mind.

Egon cast a glance back at her, "Are you alright?"

"Do you want me to let go?" Gwen asked as they halted, a red hue dusting her cheeks as she started to let go, "I'm sorry-"

"No, it's fine," Egon told her, grabbing her hand to reassure, "I'm just checking that you're okay," he nodded, "Come on,"

He led her through the narrow entrance of the apartment, the hand inside his glove starting to sweat as blushes appeared on both Egon and Gwen's cheeks.

Egon took out his PKE with his free hand as they moved into the small living room space. There was a large bookshelf on one wall, with classics like The Great Gatsby and Breakfast at Tiffany's placed inside. Egon noticed the book he had loaned her placed carefully on the coffee table.

"Well, it was definitely here," Gwen noted, gesturing to her couch, torn up and covered in ectoplasm. She cast a glance to the kitchen, seeing a few smashed plates on the ground, "Ugh. I swear to God if it went into my bedroom and messed up something I will take this thing out myself,"

Egon waved the PKE around the room, hearing the machine pick up interest at a door covered in the blue ectoplasmic gunk, "What room is that?" He asked.

"Bathroom," Gwen answered as the rest of the guys entered through the door, "How did Mrs. Alberg treat you?" She asked, looking to them.

"She Swedish?" Winston asked. Gwen nodded as Egon turned the doorknob, peeking in to see a whispy blue tiger laying in the bathtub.

"It's in here," Egon murmured lowly as he opened the door, the tiger growling at him.

Gwen only caught a quick glance at the beast in her bathtub before her head started pounding, The blood started to drain from her face as she leaned against the wall for support.

"Gwen?" Egon asked. The group stared at her as she slid to the floor, clutching her head.

"I've got it," Winston announced as Peter and Ray started to move into the small bathroom, cornering the ghost.

Egon reluctantly followed before casting a glance back to Winston.

"I've got it," Winston reassured, laying her on the remnants of the sofa, "You just go get the ghost,"

Ego nodded as the three Ghostbusters shot at the tiger. Before the streams hit the beast, it leapt upward, blowing up the plumbing in the walls.

"Right, it went upstairs, let's go," Ray announced.

As Winston watched the group go, the girl started shivering, eyes closed as images plagued her head.

She saw black eyes. So many sets of black eyes, darker than a starless midnight sky.

Winston fetched her a glass of water as she stopped shivering, her eyes cracking open as the Ghostbuster walked over.

"Egon?" She asked, voice quiet and dry.

"Nope. Winston," He replied as she tried getting up. He helped her to sit up, passing her the glass, "How are feeling? You spaced out,"

"My head feels much better," She replied, "Thanks, by the way, help yourself to anything in the fridge if you're hungry,"

Winston smiled, "Thank you,"

"No problem," Gwen yawned, "Do you have any idea on what happened?"

"I wish," Winston said, walking over to the fridge, "That kind of thing is more Egon or Ray,"

"This is gonna cost a fortune isn't it," Gwen groaned, looking to her bathroom, with the door flung open and the plumbing effectively ruined.

"The repairs or the job?" Winston asked.

"Both," She groaned, "I'm gonna be in my bedroom," she mumbled, hauling herself off the broken couch, "I swear to God if that thing went in my bedroom and broke something I'm gonna have a goddamn fit,"

As she trailed the way to her bedroom, she could hear the guys yelling upstairs. Their heavy bootfalls, the sudden sound of silence.

Silence? There's no way that they could've got the ghost in such a large, cluttered space as the apartment.

Gwen ignored it as she pressed the door to her bedroom open, seeing the bed destroyed. Springs were popping out of the mattress, the doona cover crumpled in a corner. The television and VCR were untouched, so the ghost must've left this room first.

"Are you freaking KIDDING ME?" Gwen screamed, "MY COUCH, MY PLUMBING, MY GODDAMN BED?" she started jumping in anger, her face flushed red as Winston rushed in, seeing the mess before him.

"You got a place to stay?"

"Let's see, Maddie is living with her boyfriend, Uma's place is tiny as shit, Tina has family over, so no. Great," Gwen groaned, kicking her mattress.

"It got away!" Ray called into the apartment as the door opened.

"ARE YOU KIDDING?" Gwen screamed.

Egon was the first to come into her room, a small blush on his cheeks, "Sorry about the plumbing,"

Gwen groaned, "Yeah, I know, you're just doing your job," she reasoned, more with herself than him.

Bedrooms were a great reflection of interests. Gwen's primary interests seemed to be music, various movies and books. She had a large Joy Division poster above her bed, alongside Metallica, Black Flag, and an Evil Dead poster. She had a record player by her small window – a window that didn't face anything interesting at all – with three large crates beside it filled with records. There was a thin bookcase filled with VHS tapes, and a hook on the side, where a small cloth green bag hung.

"Maybe you could stay with us?" Winston suggested to her, "I mean, we do have that spare bed upstairs, don't we?"

Egon nodded, "It's the least we could do,"

"I heard a little birdy's staying over – woah! Looks like some guy and you had a lot of fun in bed, huh?" Peter remarked as he barged in, staring at her bed.

"Probably a lot more than you could do, Venkman," Gwen back-chatted icily.

"Oh shit," Winston hummed quietly.

Egon cleared his throat, "Um, Gwen? Can I just do an exam on you?" He asked.

Gwen nodded as Peter left, Winston following.

This day was sucking. One ghost, band meeting, getting caught in the rain, being yelled at by Mrs. Alberg, now this ghost ruining everything. Nothing was going right.

"I'm tired, I just want to lie in bed, not gonna lie," Gwen murmured as she sat on the floor.

Egon plucked off his gloves. He adjusted his glasses as he knelt before her, grabbing out a small flashlight, "I know, but you have to do this for me, please,"

"What am I doing?" She asked, sighing heavily.

Poor thing, Egon thought to himself as he turned on the flashlight, she's had a long day, "Follow the light with your eyes,"

The regular physical checkup went forth as Egon watched her co-operate in a zombie-like state.

All he could think and feel was directed toward her and making sure she was okay. _Is this what Peter feels toward Dana?_ He asked himself as he watched her.

"Are we almost done?" She asked quietly.

"Almost," He answered back, grabbing his PKE. He waved it in front of her, and it started to pick up interest. Egon was partially interested and partially worried.

"Is that normal?" Gwen asked, heartbeat picking up.

"No," Egon replied.

Gwen's could feel panic crashing into her like a hot white wave.

"Did you see anything when you collapsed? Any visions of any kind?" Egon continued to ask, looking her straight in the eyes, noticing her pupils dilating.

"Eyes. All different sets of black eyes," she answered quickly, breathing quickening, "My head was killing me,"

Egon nodded, "Good, good, anything else?"

Gwen shook her head, her eyes falling to her shoes as she felt another blush come across her face.

"Thank you," Egon nodded, "Do you want me to help you pack?" He offered helpfully, trying to get her mind off it.

"Um," Gwen began as Egon offered her his hand as he stood. She grabbed it and stood, "Yeah, yes, please,"

Egon watched as she opened her closet, timidly tucking loose strands of hair behind her ears as she pulled out her suitcase, already starting to pull clothes off their racks, "Could you, um, fold these?" She asked quietly as she kept pulling off random shirts.

"Yeah, sure," Egon agreed as she got up, grabbing the green bag off the hook, unzipping it to reveal a small collection of cassettes. She counted the ones she had before dropping the little bag in her suitcase.

"Thanks for letting me stay at your place," She told him as she went to another drawer, getting an assortment of bras and panties.

The next few minutes were silent packing as the guys outside the room quietly the pair in the bedroom.

"Do you reckon he has a thing for her? He seemed fairly concerned when she had that thing earlier," Winston asked.

"I don't know, Spengs has never really-" Ray started before holding his up his finger, realizing something, "Oh! There was this one girl he had slight interest in a year or so after college – occult writer – she told him she wasn't interested. Egon left it at that, but he didn't extremely fazed by it,"

"Spengs was actually interested in another human being?" Peter asked.

"Yeah but…He didn't seem too fussed if it went one way or another. I guess we'll just have to see," Ray replied.


	6. One AM

**Gwen's POV**

_Two pairs of eyes. Black eyes. That's all I could see. But I couldn't breathe, and by the time I found myself being able to do so, I was floating in an ocean. It was silent, until I heard a low growl. I turned, seeing the ghost tiger standing before, eyes fixed on me as it stood just ankle deep in the water while I struggled to stay above the water. _

"_You ruined my house, you know," I said. _

_The tiger blinked at me, unmoving as I suddenly found my footing. _

"_What does this mean?" I asked, "I mean, why me? Look, I appreciate the fact I met Egon and all, but you know, why me specifically?"_

"_Friday the Thirteenth," said a dark female voice._

"_Friday the Thirteenth?" I repeated, "I was born on that day," _

"_You are a portal, and you are interlocked," The voice said, "With this mere tiger. You are one. Your true destiny lies in destruction," _

"_No, my true destiny is to play in my shitty band so we can make people happy," I countered, "I refuse to be some kind of plot device,"_

"_You are not the only one. There have been many of your kind in history. All have failed their tasks because they are weak. You are strong," The voice told me as the tiger stalked toward me._

"_Why am I 'interlocked' with this tiger?" I asked as the beast circled me._

"_If your soul was paired with a dangerous beast, you would be infinitely more powerful," _

"_I am not going to do this," I told the voice._

"_You will find yourself being inclined to want to do it one day," The voice said._

I bolted up in bed, looking around the dark room. It was one AM, as shown by the digital clock on the wall.

I was disturbed by that, to say the least.

Only last night had I joined the guys here. Janine knocked off a little after six, so I took the job of answering the calls for the guys. Everything quietened down after seven thirty.

The guys' homelife was what I would expect from each of them – Winston ended up playing the arcade games whilst Peter accompanied Dana back to her place just after eight. Winston left for his own place, which left Egon, Ray and I to order pizza.

_Ray chatted rather animatedly to me about a new theory that he and Egon had devised while the latter was busy eating his pizza and working on a device I hadn't seen before. _

"_So, just you two here most nights?" I asked before biting into my slice of pepperoni._

"_Nowadays, yeah. Winston never sleeps here – that's why we have that spare bed. We moved it into the spare room so we had more space in our room. Peter is hardly here anymore – which is understandable, considering he has Dana AND a brand new apartment. He always raves on about it – but trust me, it's a dump," Ray explained._

_I giggled, "Any of you night owls?"_

"_Spengler is, I like my sleep. He sometimes sleeps at a reasonable hour but sometimes he just wakes up and works," _

_I nodded, "Alright. So tonight – this a regular night?"_

"_Well no, not really, now we have a guest!" Ray smiled, "And not a guest we have to suck up to, like investors," He added. _

_I laughed at his honest statement._

I slowly got out of bed, turning on the light switch to rummage through my bag. One AM was the perfect time to watch Evil Dead - something to get my mind off the dream.

I grabbed the cassette, walking down the hall in darkness, hands out in front of me. After a ridiculous ten minutes, I finally made it to the staircase, only to see a light coming from downstairs.

_If that's Egon, I should probably tell him about the dream_. I thought to myself as I started to carefully go down the steps, the wood now cold against my bare feet.

I finally made it to the ground level, practically leaping over the cold cement until I got to the stairs leading down into the basement.

"Egon? Is that you?" I called quietly as I made my way downstairs, getting to the floor only to see Egon slumped against a wall in a deep sleep, glasses on the edge of his nose.

"Oh my God," I giggled, "Ugh, wish I had a pen," I murmured as I walked over, shaking his shoulder.

"Egon, come on," I whispered, "Come _on_," I shook his shoulder roughly now, until for him to yawn as he woke. He opened his eyes slowly, moving his hand up to his face to adjust his glasses as he looked at me.

"Good morning," I greeted quietly.

"Did I sleep all night here?" He asked, puzzled as he stretched out his neck, "And what are you doing here?"

"I saw the light when I went downstairs. It's around one in the morning," I told him, helping him up.

"Why were you up?" He asked as he got his footing, adjusting his tie.

"Dream. I think it might be important. But come watch a movie with me," I told him, "In the morning, I'll tell you the dream and you can fuss and theorize all you like,"

Egon nodded reluctantly, "Alright, what movie?"

"Evil Dead," I answered with a grin.

"Peter saw that three years ago – I remember he said he was gonna take his date to see it with him. He wanted to get laid after it. Long story short, they were both too scared to do anything," Egon reminisced as I started to walk up the steps.

"But Egon, here's the difference between you and Peter. I feel as though you're a lot braver than he is," I told him honestly, "Besides, I'm here; aren't I?" I added, "I'll protect you," I smiled.

The scientist started following me as I got to the ground level, blindly walking in the darkness to the stairs.

After what feels like ten hours, we finally made it upstairs, putting in the tape and dropping to the couch.

And I felt scared.

All those thoughts about that dream, that stupid nagging in the back of my mind. Like a hypochondriac worries about diseases they don't have. In the dark while the television only showed a stupid trailer, I worried.

"The dream isn't- It's not-"

"We'll figure it out," Egon reassured.

"I'll be safe?"

Egon faltered, "I'll keep you as safe as I can,"

"Promise?" I asked almost silently as the screen fell black, preparing for the next trailer.

"I promise," He answered.

"You're good to me Egon," I told him as I leaned down to grab the blanket by my feet. And he was, he was always so kind. And considerate. He didn't sass me like Peter. He talked to me like an intellectual equal, even though I wasn't.

I threw the scratchy blanket over the both of us.

_Should I- Is that too?- Just do it already, see how he reacts. Downplay it as tiredness if the reaction is negative. _

Before rethinking my decision, I leaned into his shoulder. I could just see him look down at me, only to look back to the screen.

_Please let that be some form of positivity._


	7. Morning

When Gwen awoke the next morning, she found herself in bed with no recollection of the night before aside from getting halfway through The Evil Dead.

"Guys?" She called out not ten minutes later, barefoot and draped in a dressing gown as she left her room.

"I'm in here!" She heard Peter call from downstairs.

_What's Peter doing here_? She asked herself as she went downstairs, moving into the dining area to see Peter wolfing down some leftover slices of pizza.

"Morning, sunspot," He greeted, gesturing to the open pizza box on the table, "Have a slice,"

"What are you doing here?" She asked, still waking up.

"I got word from Ray last night that you were gonna order pizza, so I moseyed on over here to grab a slice,"

"And you left Dana back at her place?" she asked as she reached for a slice.

"She won't be up for another two hours," He replied, looking at his clock, "She sleeps in on Saturdays,"

"Lucky to have you," she said sarcastically before biting into her slice.

"So, what'd you guys do last night?" He asked.

"What do you mean?"

"What happened is what I mean,"

"Oh, um, well when Janine left, we had two different calls. All was quiet after that. We had the pizza, talked for a bit. I woke up at like one after a nightmare. Found Egon asleep in the basement lab. Woke him up and we watched a movie,"

"Oooohh, juicy," Peter mocked playfully, "What movie?"

"Evil Dead, apparently you couldn't get laid after that," Gwen said, taking her last bite of pizza.

Peter scowled at Gwen, "Who told you that?"

Just as Peter asked, Egon came into the room, already dressed for the day, "Good morning,"

"Must've been you," Peter huffed, "I feel betrayed,"

"So do we, you're stealing our pizza," I mumbled, "Egon, did I fall asleep last night? I must've,"

Egon nodded, reaching for a slice, "You fell asleep half way through. I figured you would get a cold if I left you on the couch so I tried waking you up. I said you had to go to bed so you, in a state of near unconsciousness, asked if I could give you a piggyback to your room,"

Peter was in hysterics. Gwen was giggling, "I am so sorry,"

"I piggybacked you to your room anyway," He admitted.

"Aww," Gwen smiled, getting up to go back upstairs, "Thank you, Egon," she said gratefully, leaning in and pecking his cheek politely before going back upstairs.

Peter gave Egon a look of astonishment when Gwen was upstairs.

"Her knight in shining armour, taking her back upstairs when she was asleep," Peter grinned, "She must like you, Spengs, well and truly,"

"What happened?" Ray asked as he entered the kitchen. Egon groaned internally. _Dammit Peter._

"Gwen just kissed Egon," Peter told him casually, "And he loved it, look at him,"

"It was just a polite peck on the cheek. It means nothing," Egon tried reasoning.

"Spengler, I mean, she has seemed kind of interested," Ray told him as he took a seat.

Egon didn't reply. He wasn't always good with women, but he wasn't stupid either.

"She's always hanging off you," Peter started.

"She asks about you," Ray added.

"Comfortable around you,"

"Okay," Egon nodded, "But right now that doesn't matter. I'm staying here today, I need to run some tests on her. Apparently she had a dream last night, she seemed worried about it. Besides, I'm still worried about her PKE reading,"

* * *

When Janine arrived at three past nine, the Ecto was gone. Egon and Gwen were in the upstairs lab area, a colander with many different wires strapped to the latter's head. The former, meanwhile, was taking a PKE reading from her as she explained her dream.

"And the voice wasn't even the tiger's. I mean, it was just some lady's," Gwen concluded.

"How's your hand?" Egon asked.

"Oh, much better now," She answered with a nod, "But um, have any ideas on this whole dream thing?"

"Well, I'm worried," He said honestly.

"Great. How do we like, you know, stop this from happening?"

"We need to catch that tiger ghost, first and foremost. Then we need to find a way of contacting the voice, I guess,"

Gwen sighed, nodding, "Look, I've gotta be at a rehearsal in an hour. Is there any other experiments you wanna do?"

Egon shook his head, "Not at the moment. Is it alright if I drop by your house later? I need to check the area,"

"As long as you don't go through my stuff," Gwen nodded, taking the colander off her head, "Look, I'll get you the keys then I'd better be off. I gotta switch trains like halfway through – plus I need to warm up,"

"Alright. Is there anything you want me to pick up?" He asked politely, thinking about what Peter and Ray had said earlier about Gwen being interested.

"Um, just that book you leant me. I don't think I packed it," Gwen replied as she started to leave.

Coming back not a few moments later, she threw him the keys, bidding him a quick good bye.

"Uh, Gwen? Can I ask you something?" Egon asked, avoiding her eyes. _If she's interested, I should act on it. I'm interested too, anyway. _Gwen waited for a question before he started talking, clearing his throat, "Would you like to go to dinner with me one night?" He asked.

Gwen tried containing the massive blush on her face to no avail, "I would- I'd really like that, Egon," She nodded.

"Is Tuesday good for you?"

"Yeah, Tuesday's great. Eight o' clock?"

Egon smiled back at her, "Yes, sounds good,"

* * *

When Gwen arrived at rehearsals, it was a flurry of conversation. Chatter here and there about a party, the group pulled together for what looked like an impromptu meeting.

"Gwen!" The Ringleader shouted from the group, "We're hosting a party! Can your group perform?"

Gwen nodded dismissively, "Yeah, sure,"

"It's on tomorrow night!"

_Thanks for telling me._

"We honestly forgot to tell you," Jordan added with a grin.

_Oh piss off._


End file.
